[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by dhdallas

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (or What Happened to the Boomer Generation?)

Remember the 1956 American science fiction horror film Invasion of the Body Snatchers starring Kevin McCarthy and Dana Wynter? The black-and-white film was done in a film noir style and is really creepy but the idea underneath the material is a lot scarier than anything you see.

Alien plant spores had fallen from space and grown into large seed pods, each one capable of producing a visually identical replacement copy of a human. The new human copies moved and thought together as a group. Many viewed it as an allegory for the loss of personal autonomy.

This brings me to my point. Whatever happened to the Baby Boomer/Woodstock generation? Were they victims of alien spores? Are they now living among us as pod people? The Baby Boomers used to question everything and especially anything the government and media told them.

Do NOT tell me, “We grew up”. Of course we did; we matured, we became a little less confrontational and we learned to bend a little. Some degree of conformity is necessary to get along in society but have we thrown out our ability for independent thinking along with our bell bottoms and tie dyed shirts?

Now comes a brand new virus. Fear & rumor run amok. Instead of our leaders and the media calming the public and speaking as a voice of reason, we continue to be bombarded daily with stories of death and measures we all must adhere to lest we get sick and join the daily published death count.

Constitutional rights were the first casualty of the virus... or was it the truth? Individual freedom was quickly proven to be just an illusion as the government mandated lockdowns, forced businesses into bankruptcy, banned travel and public gatherings.

My recent article dealt with the reasons I was not getting vaccinated & that people should really investigate the pros and cons rather than to blindly trust the government and the pharmaceutical industry. Rather than delve behind the curtain to sort out the real truth, it seems everyone is fighting over who gets to drink the Kool-Aid first.

Cancel culture is a modern form of ostracism in which someone is thrust out of social or professional circles either online on social media, in the real world, or both. As an example, I posted the exact same article about vaccinations that appeared on this forum to “The Villages Friendly Folks” Facebook page only to have it removed by their administrators. The reason given was that I somehow violated their posting policies of no hate speech/bullying, no promotions or spam, and to respect others' privacy. Their feedback also included a quote from the WHO stating “Approved COVID-19 vaccines have been tested extensively for safety and effectiveness.”
Facebook and free speech are not compatible, I should know better.

I find there are three distinct psychological terms that apply to the general public and their behavior regarding COVID prevention and vaccination.

Groupthink is a psychological phenomenon that occurs within a group of people in which the desire for harmony or conformity in the group results in an irrational or dysfunctional decision-making outcome.

Compliance Theory is when you act the way you are “supposed” to act; either because you were directly asked, or pressured more indirectly

Complicity Theorist is a person who accepts the political narrative of the day unquestionably; consumes mainstream media; and is prone to submissiveness, outbursts of irrational fear, and public shaming of free-thinkers.

So either these terms apply to the masses (and not just to the Baby Boomers) or “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” has become a reality. I don’t know about you but I am checking the house for seed pods every night before bed!

David H. Dallas, RN-ASN, EMT-P, retired

“In questions of science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual.”
― Galileo Galilei

The administrators on a Facebook page or group has nothing to do with Facebook itself. Each group has their own rules. I was thrown off of a Facebook group by the wife of one of the county commissioners when I said something about sometimes Euthanasia for dogs is a kindness.


There are other points on your post that I think you have incorrectly stated or generalized incorrectly as well.

[LoriL]

I remember this movie vividly! I was terrified to go to bed for weeks without my parents checking under my bed for pods!! With that said, I very much agree with your post. Boomers, who were not all hippies, would always question what was happening and/or being said. I think part of it is, Villagers are living the lifestyle and enjoying it! Who wouldn't? It's wonderful here. Who wants to rock the boat with questions. At least, that's my perception. Thanks for a good post!

[LoriL]

That's funny!

[LiverpoolWalrus]

"Most hippies are/were baby boomers."

Originally Posted by PugMom

& we are here living the current dream

"A dream we dream alone is just a dream but a dream we dream together is reality." -Yoko Ono

Even though a lot of us here are more like Ozzie and Harriet, it's good to know many in the Villages are still flying the freak flag.

"Fall mountains, just don't fall on me
Go on mister businessman,
You can't dress like me.
I've got my own life to live
I'm the one that's gotta die
When it's time for me to die
So let me live my life the way I want to
I'm gonna wave my freak flag high"

Jimi Hendrix, 1967

[macawlaw]

Here is the First Amendment: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

This is a guarantee that the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT will not restrict your speech. Certain exemptions do apply, such as yelling "fire," but there are not many.

So, when people voice an opinion and others disagree, this has NOTHING to do with First Amendment rights. (If you want my credentials, I am an attorney, my parents owned a newspaper - I grew up surrounded by this issue, and I taught a First Amendment class at a university.)

The problem now, though, is that everyone wants to say what they want without consequences. People are intent on engaging in bad behavior and call it "cancel culture" when they incur a consequence.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by dhdallas

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (or What Happened to the Boomer Generation?)

Remember the 1956 American science fiction horror film Invasion of the Body Snatchers starring Kevin McCarthy and Dana Wynter? The black-and-white film was done in a film noir style and is really creepy but the idea underneath the material is a lot scarier than anything you see.

Alien plant spores had fallen from space and grown into large seed pods, each one capable of producing a visually identical replacement copy of a human. The new human copies moved and thought together as a group. Many viewed it as an allegory for the loss of personal autonomy.

This brings me to my point. Whatever happened to the Baby Boomer/Woodstock generation? Were they victims of alien spores? Are they now living among us as pod people? The Baby Boomers used to question everything and especially anything the government and media told them.

Do NOT tell me, “We grew up”. Of course we did; we matured, we became a little less confrontational and we learned to bend a little. Some degree of conformity is necessary to get along in society but have we thrown out our ability for independent thinking along with our bell bottoms and tie dyed shirts?

Now comes a brand new virus. Fear & rumor run amok. Instead of our leaders and the media calming the public and speaking as a voice of reason, we continue to be bombarded daily with stories of death and measures we all must adhere to lest we get sick and join the daily published death count.

Constitutional rights were the first casualty of the virus... or was it the truth? Individual freedom was quickly proven to be just an illusion as the government mandated lockdowns, forced businesses into bankruptcy, banned travel and public gatherings.

My recent article dealt with the reasons I was not getting vaccinated & that people should really investigate the pros and cons rather than to blindly trust the government and the pharmaceutical industry. Rather than delve behind the curtain to sort out the real truth, it seems everyone is fighting over who gets to drink the Kool-Aid first.

Cancel culture is a modern form of ostracism in which someone is thrust out of social or professional circles either online on social media, in the real world, or both. As an example, I posted the exact same article about vaccinations that appeared on this forum to “The Villages Friendly Folks” Facebook page only to have it removed by their administrators. The reason given was that I somehow violated their posting policies of no hate speech/bullying, no promotions or spam, and to respect others' privacy. Their feedback also included a quote from the WHO stating “Approved COVID-19 vaccines have been tested extensively for safety and effectiveness.”
Facebook and free speech are not compatible, I should know better.

I find there are three distinct psychological terms that apply to the general public and their behavior regarding COVID prevention and vaccination.

Groupthink is a psychological phenomenon that occurs within a group of people in which the desire for harmony or conformity in the group results in an irrational or dysfunctional decision-making outcome.

Compliance Theory is when you act the way you are “supposed” to act; either because you were directly asked, or pressured more indirectly

Complicity Theorist is a person who accepts the political narrative of the day unquestionably; consumes mainstream media; and is prone to submissiveness, outbursts of irrational fear, and public shaming of free-thinkers.

So either these terms apply to the masses (and not just to the Baby Boomers) or “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” has become a reality. I don’t know about you but I am checking the house for seed pods every night before bed!

David H. Dallas, RN-ASN, EMT-P, retired

“In questions of science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual.”
― Galileo Galilei

This is a well-written, impressive, and thought-provoking. thread started. Kudos and thank you. I happen to disagree with most of the ideas stated after the "and then came the Virus" part. But, I am sure that it will prompt a lively discussion. It beats many, many of the irrelevant, "light-weight" threads of today and many in the past. I may possibly comment about why I disagree, but I will read the other comments 1st. Again, thank you!

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by Mortal1

actually the baby boomers are just fine and while you group them with the hippies because of age they had nothing in common.

Well, that's may be true for you, but I was part of BOTH groups.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by Edjkoz

You make some good points. I often wonder where the outrage is as we continue to lose our right to free speech. The cancel culture has taken hold and there the push back is minimal. Our right to free speech is being assaulted everyday and people don’t seem to mind. Our culture is moving more toward the way it is in China. People can go on with their lives on a day to day basis with no problem. Just don’t say the wrong thing.

We have PLENTY of free speech - maybe too much when you consider the trash on the "dark web"? Our problem is polarization of social ideas. We are divided into 2 thought camps and even within families. To love or show respect for someone with differing views, sometimes you must "bite your tongue" and stay silent. Facebook has programming designed to keep you on THEIR platform (for advertisement purposes) and the programming guides you toward other like-thinking individuals. This is HOW FB decreases everyone's free speech. Ironically, if there were MORE GOVERNMENT controls on FB and other platforms, we would have more free speech by avoiding polarization and having more thought diversity. I know that SOME anti-government-types will disagree with that statement. In simple form do you like government rules for seat belt laws or do you consider that "government-overreach? The recent Texas disaster and DEATHS were PERFECT EXAMPLES of why we all NEED government (even MORE government in Texas). And since the government and medical Science vigorously tested our Vaccines and the risk of the CV Plague is great. I will go along with a government (that I trust) and I will take mine. Even when knowing that there is perhaps (?) a 1/100 th of a % possibility that it might(?) be a mistake. I will take those odds!

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by jswirs

I AGREE with the OP, about everything he has posted. So many folks are so afraid of getting the virus, reminds me of what I learned way back in high school, a quote from Julius Caesar: "Cowards die many times before their death....it seems to me most strange that men should fear, seeing that death, a necessary end, will come when it will come".
The three best doctors in the world, "SUNSHINE, LAUGHTER AND EXERCISE".
.

Stupid people often flirt with death and then die a stupid unnecessary death, like about 150,000 of the current CV deaths. But, I will concede that the Julius Ceasar quote made sense! But, NOT the interpretation.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by Neils

History has no record of revolutions that are led by old people.

Nelson Mandela!

[LiverpoolWalrus]

Originally Posted by jimjamuser

Well, that's may be true for you, but I was part of BOTH groups.

That was my point. One’s a subset of the other. The post is like saying the Villages and Florida are separate and have nothing in common.

[dadoiron]

Originally Posted by matandch

Yeah! Go Florida! Live Free and Die! I ain’t gonna let nobody pee in my cornflakes! ⚰️⚱️

Do you mean "live free or die" which is the New Hampshire motto?

Don't know why Florida's motto is in God we trust.

But definitely God helps those that help themselves so away we go helping ourselves.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by mrrmauu

Corporations have. If you think we have free speech you’re not paying attention to what’s going on.

Many many people have been denied access to the following due to exercising their so-called “free speech” -

Flying
Banking
Social media platforms
Credit cards
Internet services (servers, access, etc.)
Jobs
I’m sure there are many many more

And this is just the beginning.

Sort of great, "crazy talk".

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by Petersweeney

Someday there will be pushback but only when they start coming for people who have written on this thread!!!

Not detailed enough to be meaningful. And super strange.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by G.R.I.T.S.

You said "ssy nearly anything" two times. That doesn't look like free speech to me. Just sayin'...

I imagine that what was meant was the "can't yell fire in a movie and call it free speech" concept. There are MINOR exceptions to everything.